An Exciting Journey toward Your Dream Home

Human life is a continuous journey. It consists of various stages such as the childhood period; and the educational period which consists of school, college and university. Then we enter into our practical life, get a suitable job, and have different experiences during our life.

Everyone of us wishes to get the best and highest education and training in order to have a bright and successful future, so we may be the most useful individual to serve our society and have ground positions financially. Then we get married with a suitable match and start our family life. At this stage, happily married couples start thinking about having their own beautiful dream home so that their family can live and enjoy their life safely and peacefully.

Many people emigrate from their native country to another country for a better future due to several different reasons. Similarly some of them move and settle in Canada. They pass through tough times, experiences, challenges, and struggle to settle here for better life socially and financially. In the beginning the have to reside in rental units. As time passes and they have favourable circumstances, they start to think about buying their dream home. This is positive, constructive and very healthy thinking.

The purchase of a home is one of the biggest and most expensive decision in our life. But the fact is no risk no gain, so we have to think positively for our future. To make our dream come true we need to start from somewhere and take a step, like Lao ToChung said "A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step". We may face many challenges and difficulties along the way but "in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity" (Albert Einstein). Anyway in the fulfilment of our dream, moving from a rental unit to our own dream home will be a positive experience and an exciting journey overall.

Last week I received a phone call from a potential client who mentioned that he is renting an apartment at $1500/month. He asked me a few questions regarding the purchase of a home. I provided him with the required information and the answers to his questions. At that time I started to think about all the newcomers to Canada who could be in a similar situation like the other gentleman. So I had an idea that I should write some articles on real estate for the benefit of the newcomers to Canada. So I hope and pray that my humble efforts in expressing my ides and sharing with my brothers and sisters may be useful and beneficial for them.

Dear friends! When we think about purchasing a home many questions arise, for example:

• Why should we buy a house?

• What are its benefits and its responsibilities?

• What type of house should we buy?

• Where should we purchase our dream house?

• What is the suitable method to buy our house?

• What is the minimum amount of money we need?Although all of these questions are very important, today I will focus only on points why should we buy a house and what are its benefits and responsibilities?

Advantages Of Home Ownership

Home ownership has many advantages, some of them have a positive effect socially and others are beneficial financially. Some advantages are:

Peace of Mind: Everybody wishes to get the best education and training to serve their country and nation and to achieve a high status in the society as well and live in the house they've always wanted. During the last 25 years it has been observed that many people emigrate to Canada to settle down here. They live in rental units and pay major portions of their hard earned income in rent every month. So the people who think about the future and the long term effects of their actions buy their house and finally live in a peace of mind because now they don't have to waste money each month on rent but instead invest it for their future.

Family Safety and Security: Long term thinkers buy their house as early as possible and prove to be the wise people. They reside in good neighbourhoods and provide safety and security for their families and children. The children feel satisfied about their security and feel confident as well.

Social Status and Respect: The houses are mostly situated in good residential neighbourhoods and prestigious areas along with the esteemed schools. The parents and children feel comfortable, confident, and self respected living in these homes. A better lifestyle increases the respect and dignity in the society. Renters and home owners have different views and perspectives.

Personal Freedom: Being a home owner means you can enjoy freedom, piece of mind, and living without any unnecessary restriction. Home owners can live the way they like and make any changes in the home according to their own needs. Home owners can also sell or rent the house according to their personal needs.

Enjoyment and Health: After purchasing a house we have to work hard physically to maintain our home; ie. cleaning, decorating, gardening and landscaping, etc. All these activities and hobbies provide us enjoyment and good health as well - a healthy mind lies in a healthy body-

Compulsory Saving: We learn from our lives and experiences that to earn money is not as difficult compared to spending the earned money wisely. As we save some money and put it in our savings account similarly we buy a home and make compulsory payments regularly and get necessary equity as well as peace of mind.

Rental vs. Owning: According to a survey, people who live in rental units throughout their lives can purchase 4 houses with the total amount of rent they have ever paid.

Lifetime rent amount = approx. 4 houses

Tax Benefits: We are fortunate people who live in Canada and enjoy personal freedom, self respect, and dignity. Although we have to pay taxes for the country and the public welfare the citizens of this country are well taken care of according to their needs. The government encourages and facilitates the public in buying their homes. Home owners get many tax benefits and enjoy tax free capital gain from their principal residence selling.

Value Appreciation: Real estate value increases everywhere and in all countries but in Canada especially. It is observed that during the past 25 years approximately 300,000 people are coming to Canada to settle here and they need a nice place to live. So due to the high demand of houses in Canada, real estate value is increasing drastically every year. So home owners can enjoy their peaceful life and get the financial benefits as well.

Better Credit Rating: In the case of purchasing our home, we have to make regular payments of mortgages to the bank so the financial institutions value your good credit worthiness and consider you a reliable and excellent customer. on the basis of this good and maintained credit. Banks can provide you further loans or a high line of credit without hesitation and lengthy formality process.

Dear friends, although home ownership brings us many benefits socially and financially, there are also numerous responsibilities and duties that follow the benefits. We have to make regular payments to the lender, pay utility bills for heating, electricity, water, and others. We have to pay monthly for home insurance premium continuously for the risk coverage. We have to maintain our home repair if needed, landscaping and exterior of the house in the summer months but gardening can be very enjoyable. Snow removal and cleaning is a must in the winter season. But either way the responsibilities regarding a home are not as much as the many benefits and enjoyment that buying a home can bring. I hope you gained some knowledge regarding the purchase of your home. For further information you can always contact me or any other realtors.